mara river croc & wildebeast sighting
 

from my mara visit. this day was 10/19/05
thx, david

The Beast fought and struggled to get away from the HUGE CROC. The Beast had the Croc half way out of the water. Did the Beast get away? Did the Croc let go? Or did the Beast Perish into the Mara River?
So many people asked why such a short time to go all that way? They don't get it I guess. Unless you have been there. You never will. It is so easy to get there. Life is too short to worry about is it worth it or not, too much time to get there, not enough time there ect.Trust me it is ALL WORTH IT.
I went for the GREAT WILDEBEAST & ZEBRA MIGRATION. Hoping it was still there. It was! In full swing and going strong. I always stay at the TALEK RIVER camp site near the TALEK GATE. But, we took a left turn away from that gate most days to head to the West side of the Mara.Thats where the MIGRATION is. We have to cross what they call: DOUBLE CROSS. You need a 4x4 truck. When it's this wet and that much mud. No minni-van can get there. My Land Rover was almost riding side ways in the Mud Walls. We had water half way up the doors.My truck skidded and danced in the mud like in our snow & ice at home in winter.Kashu my driver plays in this stuff all the time now. Like a kid. He loves it. Along with the Wildebeast & Zebra. We had many Lions, Vultures, of course Mud, check this out. Cheetah twice in 1 day on trucks. The same Cheetah. This pretty thing has a habit of doing that in that area. The morn drive we stayed for 1hr watching this Cheetah. Many stills & video.We thought she would clime into the truck with the 2 people. But she stayed on the edge of the opening.The late drive, same Cheetah on top of the roof. These people looked scared. No pics were being taken. Too bad.We knew that Masai driver. He was touching her tail. All on video. Awesome sights. But it was time to go. He started up the truck she strutted her stuff and walked off.
10's of thousands of Wildebeasts. Armies covering the MARA PLAINS. A carcass there another carcass there. Time to take a full day drive and head to the MAIN CROSSING point. AND WAIT! We stopped off to the side in the shade. Had some snacks, beers, soda. Walked to the egde of the river ledge. Saw Hippos, Crocs, Racing water.There was 4 trucks that came through the Herds to the crossing point. After 5mins, they came out to have some lunch and relax. Thinking they had time. THEY DIDN'T! Kashu, then said it's time to go over there. We can't see the Crossing Point. So how did he know? Gut feeling, insticnt, masai magic? We drove through the Herds I stood up. The animals were cossing the River. Kashu punched the gas.There were 4 trucks there waiting all morning. We parked with them.The video is rolling. 2 lines of Wildebeats crossing. I didn't see the Croc yet. Little Moses from camp spotted it. I found the Croc.Getting ready to makes it's move. Beasts are starting to jump over the Croc. Then the Croc tried a couple of lazy grabs. Then all of a sudded he tried a wide open mouth head swing grab! But missed. Beasts are still jumping over the Croc.The Croc changed sides. Still trying to grab a Beast. There is so much confusion and mayhem.The Croc grabbed a Beast by the back leg. I didn't see it right away. The Beast was trying to drag the Croc out of the water. Almost did. The Beast was out of the water. The Croc was half way out of the water. Huge Croc , Huge Wildebeast. The Beast tried and tried. Then in a second the POWER of the CROC swung his head and neck to his right.Threw the Wildebeast into the water. Still, the Beast did not want to go down.The Croc Swung again and tossed the Beast over. The Beast still trying to fight and get away. But it was done now. At least 6 times the Beast tried to safe itself from drowning. Was fighting till only the tips of the Wildebeast Horns was sticking out of the water. WOW! Unbelieveable Fight to the Death.
Those other trucks that went around the corner to have lunch. They missed the whole thing. Sucks to be them. Great to be us. Kashu said they won't try again for another 2 or 3 days to cross now. I saw this ONLY because of my driver: RICHARD KASHU.

David,
I get it. Your flying visit to the Mara was worth it. It’s important to have the best driver and your wildebeest and croc story was well worth 3 posts. Poor beestie. Asante na karibu nyumbani.

What an exciting encounter! So you've turned into a mystery writer.

It is amazing how Africa allows us to see a little slice of survival in the wild.

Glad you had a great trip. Can you let your driver Richard know you posted these nice comments about him?

lynn, i will. he and i are like brothers.
we talk and talk, laugh all day and eve.
he is great! i owe it all to him.
if anyone wants his driving let me know.
d

Sounds thrilling, Dave!

hi, sorry about the posts. these sites sometimes gives mixed signals lol.
i met a driver at the pub we always visit in nairobi. his name was Don. it's strange to hear even with the locals that go there all the time. that even he and others has not seen this happen.
will let you know when i have pics posted. maybe some time i'll be to post some of that video.
d

Hi,
Great encounter. You almost made me feel like I was there - I wish. Hurry up and get those photos up for us.
Thanks for sharing,
Sherry

hi again, as for the croc scene. no stills only video. there wasn't any time at all to keep switching. too much to miss as you could guess. the whole scene only took about 5 mins or so.
but i have other stills. will keep you guys posted.
thx, d

wow...that was exciting just to read. Someday I'll have to see it, too. Thanks for posting :-)